“What’s that, Darlin’?” I turn in his arms and place a kiss under his jaw.
“Nothing important right now. Why were you four huddled up so long?”
“When are you supposed to fight again?”
My head tilts and my eyes narrow a bit. I study his face in an attempt to figure out what he’s thinking, but Zane has absolutely no tells. Maybe when you’re able to read people so well, you figure out how to guard yourself.
“In three weeks,” I tell him leaning my head against his chest. The mere thought of it makes me sick. “In his warped fucking mind, he’s being generous giving me an extra three weeks to prep, but I can’t train with broken damn ribs.”
He lets out a slight growl. “Three weeks is plenty of time for us to get ourselves in place.”
I jerk back bumping into the rail. “What are you talking about?”
“We’re going to be there, Tori. For the next fight.”
I’m shaking my head. I know I need help, but I don’t want it. And I don’t want theirs. If something happens to any of them, I won’t be able to live with myself. “You can’t do that Zane. None of you. I can handle it.”
“Baby, I know you are a fucking badass, but you can’t handle this. This won’t end until you’re dead. And we’ve gotten word that they are planning on auctioning Cara off the same night you fight.”
My stomach falls and my heart stops. I already knew this was a game, but I at least thought I was keeping my sister safe. I thought I was protecting her.
Everything around me starts to spin and I feel like I’m going to be sick. I turn away from him and heave over the balcony railing. “We’re going to get her Tori.”
“How – how did you find this out so fast?” I ask as I finally realize what Layla and Zoey were trying to tell me.
“Because, to an extent, we’re all connected. Us, Chicago, New York. We are all smaller collectives of a larger force. Each syndicate controls its own territory. Some get along better than others. There was a time, none of the other syndicates got along with River City or Chicago. Times have changed and with it, the way business is conducted and what is considered okay. As younger generations have taken over, things like forced marriages, rapes, sex trafficking have become less accepted. Rory and Bastian don’t tolerate it. It’s why they wanted to take over down here. It’s why a friend of theirs took over in Miami. But there is still the diehard traditionalist like the DeLucas that want to keep the status quo. We aren’t supposed to get involved, but it’s hard not to. Not when we see the fall out in Layla and Verity.”
“I can’t let you fight my battle. I can’t let you get hurt because of my sister.”
“You’re not going to let us do anything, Tori,” I hear Jax say from the patio doorway. “All of the women here have been subjected to shit they should never have to deal with. Antonio Rossi was our cousin and Bastian’s uncle. It didn’t stop him from having Bastian’s mom killed. And it didn’t stop him from trying to auction Layla off to the highest bidder to fuck with Rory.”
“We’ve actually been working behind the scenes in Chicago for a while. It’s part of why we wanted Verity’s father’s company. Pretty sure they've been working to get a foot in down here as well,” Bastian says as he joins us on the balcony again followed behind Rory. “We have people in place ready to take over, but we have to get rid of the trash so to speak. The plan was originally to let Matteo and Alberto take over in their own time, but we’re speeding up the timeline.”
“So, you’re not going to take over Chicago?” I ask them.
“That’s not how it works,” Rory tells me plainly. “There are territory lines just like state and country lines. There hasn’t been a fight over divided territory for decades. The Chicago syndicate will always be the Chicago syndicate. Changing power is nearly as impossible. Here, Rossi blood still controls so there was no real dispute anywhere but here. Chicago is only possible because of Matteo.”
“Matteo?”
“Matteo is my cousin,” Bastian explains. “And a La Rosa which basically makes him mafia royalty. His family is like the Pope to the Catholic church.Legge. They sent him a while ago to observe and report. Of course, we’re not supposed to know this.” He says the last part with a grin. “Matteo isn’t just there to observe and report anymore. He’s supposed to take over.”
My head is swimming and floating and spinning in a million different directions as I try to comprehend and catalog what they’re telling me. “Wh – what about James? His name is Rossi. Doesn’t that make him something to you?”
“We don’t know. Paul is on his way over to try to help us understand that part,” Rory tells me through clenched teeth.
“Paul?”
“Paul è mio padre,” Bastian explains to me in Italian like I understand a damn word of it. But ‘padre’ is pretty self-explanatory. “If anyone will know who the hell this guy is, it’s him.”
Zane pulls me closer to him. “We’re not trying to come to the rescue,” he says sincerely, “but we are going to help Cara. And you.”
“We may need you to go through with that fight,” Jax tells me. “Can you do me a favor and not get yourself killed? I’ve got two people who need you to be okay.”
“I’ll do my best,” I say with a laugh. But I have no idea how I laugh about it because this fight is anything but a joke.
Zane
“Valen! Get in here,” Coach yells from his office as I work to get out of my practice gear.
